Special Privilege Iqama for Expats with 6 conditions

‘Special Privilege Iqama’ for Expatriates was announced by Crown Price Muhammad Bin Salman which will abolish the Sponsorship (Kafala) system in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Special Privilege Iqama was approved by Shoura council and this system will give extra privileges to All the expatriates living in Saudi Arabia to move freely in and out of Saudi Arabia without the consent of Sponsors (Kafeel)

There will 2 types of Iqama:

Permanent Residence permit
Temporary Residence permit with specific fees

This will enable expats for few priviliges including practicing business, according to specific conditions.

Six Conditions for Obtaining ‘Special Privilege Iqama’ for Expats:

1.  Holding a valid passport
2.  Applicant should be financially solvent
3.  Applicant should be at least 21 years of age
4.  If he is staying in the kingdom, he should be holding a valid Iqama
5.  He should possess a clean criminal record, devoid of any previous offenses
6.  He should present a medical report proving he is free from any contagious diseases. The report should be inline with the requirements of the regulations in force in the kingdom.

Buhlaiqah mentioned that the new system will solve a number of cases in which investors resort to tasattur, causing great harm to the Saudi economy as a result of disorganized work and the existence of an owner just in name whereas the actual owner of these investments is someone else.

This investor might even be practicing undeclared activities. He said this system would leave no room for resorting to tasattur. It will also attract people to live in the Kingdom and invest in it. — Source: al-arabiya.net